There will be the rare chance to see a huge US military aircraft and a fast RAF plane in a Pembrokeshire fly-past this week.

The four-engined Boeing KC 135 - stationed at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk with the US Air Force - and a Hawk trainer from RAF Valley, Anglesey, will be flying over the Carew Cheriton wartime airfield in the south of the county on Friday, September 22.

The purpose of their visit is to show appreciation for the memorials installed at the Carew Cheriton Control Tower site in honour of the American military personnel who were stationed in Pembrokeshire in readiness for the D-Day landings in June 1944.

One of the memorials, to African American military personnel, was unveiled at last month’s Wings Over Carew open day.

The fly-past was originally due to take place then, but weather conditions forced its cancellation.

“The US Air Force said it would like to ‘finish the job’ and schedule another fly-past, and RAF Valley said they would join in too,” said one of the Control Tower’s volunteers, Keith Hamer.

“It’s going to be a once-in-a lifetime event, so we hope as many children as possible will be able to watch it.

“It should be quite a sight!”

The Boeing KC 135 is a refuelling tanker aircraft, while the Hawk is used to train the next generation of fighter pilots.

“They are going to be flying pretty low – from 1,000 to 2,000 feet – and will be very noisy, so we have informed local farmers that the fly-past is taking place,” added Mr Hamer.

What time does it all take place?

The fly-past is scheduled to take place at 1pm – weather and operational conditions permitting.

Admission is free to the Control Tower site.

It will be open from 11am to allow visitors to park up, have a look round, enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and hopefully make a donation towards the upkeep of the facility, which is run entirely by volunteers.